The present disclosure relates to methods for producing a single-walled carbon nanotube in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor comprising contacting liquid catalyst droplets and a carbon source in the reactor, and forming a single walled carbon nanotube at the surface of the liquid catalyst droplets.
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) are increasingly becoming of interest for various applications in nanotechnology because of their unique electronic structures, which gives them exceptional thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties. For example, SWNT can be used in electronics, energy devices, medicine, and composite materials in order to obtain desirable physical and chemical properties. These uses require methods for producing significant quantities of SWNT.
Various processes are used to produce SWNT including physical methods (e.g., electrical arc, laser ablation) and chemical methods (e.g., pyrolysis, chemical vapor deposition). Bench production yield from these methods is low and expensive. In addition, the product is not homogenous and contains tubes with broad diameter distributions and various helicity and thereby various electrical and mechanical properties, which limit their broader applications. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for methods for controllably producing SWNT with narrow distributions of structural helices, and high yields.